Shouldn't have to, and I agree with you that it's all about Nash and we could sign Nash without the S & T component, but an s & t after signing Nash would allow us to sign another decent FA or two.

Wasn't it Nash who came out and said he would do a S&T, so Phoenix would get something in return? I think BC is negotiating with Nash to convince him to sign, then BC will honor his request and negotiate the S&T deal with Phoenix. I could see Phoenix wanting either Calderon or Bayless, plus maybe JJ and/or a 2nd round pick.

There are many who feel Love is all offensive and no defense, fantasy basketball dream but little contribution to on court wins. This kind of lends credibility given the 'success' Minnesota has had in his first 3 years and the result once Rubio went down this year.

But to imply that Fields is better than Love is not something I agree with at all.

Again, you're disregarding the parity between teammates.

All this and nothing about the topic at hand. Great job.

Wow. You really do hold a grudge - just as I thought and that is cool. I apologized when I hurt your feelings before and I've apologized for having a difference of opinion with you now. Isn't that what you are looking for? Otherwise I really don't know what your posts are all about.... You are right!

Now you're really begging the question here.

I'm afraid I can't see a favourable trend developing here. There's less and less substance with every post you make.

Let me say this: I hold no ill feelings towards you Matt. It's just that your troll posts and flamebaits were so bad before that I feel compelled to help you improve.

I'm the first to admit when I am wrong (I think I've done it on these forums 5 times in the last 2 days), you just can't come at me with, "You're wrong because I say you're wrong!"

i dont think nash waiting on the knicks means he wants to go there. If i were a free agent and had a 12 mil/year offer and NY was coming after me i would want to wait and see what they can offer me, doesnt mean i would go to NY i would want to weigh out the options.

Has anyone ever noticed there are rarely stories given through 'sources' with Nash?

All stories generally have direct quotes from him or lack the anonymous 'source'.

I don't buy this story because it is well known Nash's inner circle is extremely small and they do not play these games through media personalities such as Aldridge. It is just now how he has ever operated - even when PHX let everyone go who was a part of the Suns glory years and deep playoff run in 2010.

Personally, I think this source is a person connected with the Knicks. I believe Nash to stick to his word and make a decision within 4-5 days. I think the last bit of business is to hear what Dallas says.

Nash spurning the Raptors now would have devastating effects, in my opinion, on his role with Basketball Canada and his Canadian business ventures in retirement.

Has anyone ever noticed there are rarely stories given through 'sources' with Nash?

All stories generally have direct quotes from him or lack the anonymous 'source'...

Really good point Matt. He is notorious for not playing the kind of games that are common in pro sports. He did say, both early and late, that he would seriously consider all offers. It appears that he is doing exactly that.

I think Nash wants all his options available to him. If NY is interested, he is going to hear their full pitch. I still have a good feeling about Nash in Toronto.

One concern I had was that Bryan was dipping into his cap space to get Fields at $5M for the first year (or $6.3M on average). Could we do a S&T with NY for Fields using Barbosa's TPE? Or give them Weems & Bayless for Fields (they were interested in Weems, and Bayless could be a solid replacement for Lin).

That way we still have cap space to sign Nash outright, or make other moves.

Why would NY do that if we take Fields from them and prevent them from getting Nash? A TPE could do wonders for them especially if they lose Lin, Fields and lose out on Nash. They would need a PG and could go after a guy like Sessions or perhaps even Lowry from Houston. Plus that TPE would not be enough to get Nash anyway (and you can't package a TPE with other assets to get one person).

Actually scratch my idea of sending them Bayless & Weems.. they could just repackage them to Phoenix in a S&T. I like the TPE idea better.

I haven't read this entire thread so someone else may have mentioned this, but a little digging into Synergy's numbers shows that Fields is in fact a pretty shitty defender. Now take this with a grain of salt because I find it hard to believe that BC would be stupid enough to stick Casey with yet another poor defender on the wing and the Raps' in-house scouting may suggest differently, but here are the numbers according to Ball Don't Lie's Kelly Dwyer:

He wasn't any great shakes on the defensive end, either. Fields ranked 341st among NBA players in overall points allowed per play defended, according to Synergy Sports Technology's game charting. When you consider that more than 440 players saw NBA floor-time this season, that not all of them are counted (only guys with at least 25 plays charted appear in the rankings, per Synergy's FAQ) and that Fields played 2,009 total minutes this season (so it's not like he got burned repeatedly for one game and caught a bum stat line), that number looks really, really bad. That he ranked 185th in the NBA or worse in defending pick-and-roll ball-handlers, on post-ups, on spot-ups and in isolation doesn't help matters. (In fairness, we must note that he posted a top-100 finish in defending plays off screens, coming in at 96th overall.)

DeRozan is a cheap player right now. Don't just assume they're going to move him. He might get pushed to the bench at some point this season though. I think Amir and Ed are the guys who should be top on the chopping block given the depth chart. The Raptors have been weak at the wing so to me it doesn't make sense to trade a good cheap one away as soon as they add a couple more players at the position.

I would not move Amir.
- plays his ass off
- phenomenal practice player and example.
- one of the best PF defenders in the league
- great in transition
He does whatever is asked of him.
- is only slightly overpaid